Stone Faux Finishing Tutorial

The projects best suited for a stone faux finish are small household items such as vases, planters, a lamp base, picture frame or a tabletop. Certain wall features such as wainscoting or trim molding may also be enhanced with the application of a faux finish stone effect.

Tools and Materials

Where possible use the same paint for the primer, basecoat and for mixing with the glaze. See the color mixing instructions below before priming. You can use a flat, eggshell or semi–gloss paint for this project, the choice is up to you. Semi–gloss and other shiny paints may be a bad choice however, as they can add too much gloss to the glaze finish. Flat may be the better choice to create a more realistic stone finish because each coat will flatten and blend together better. For the smooth glossy look of polished granite apply a shiny clear coat to complete the stone effect.

The tools and materials you will need to create this effect are as follows:

• natural sea sponge
• quart latex painting glaze
• tube of raw umber
• tube of burnt umber
• tube of lamp black
• quart primer
• quart latex paint (any finish will do)
• spray can semi–gloss or satin clear coat

Surface Preparation

• Ceramics and Glass: prepare these surfaces using denatured alcohol to wipe the surface clean, Use an alkyd based primer and an alkyd basecoat. Or to save time the primer can be used as the basecoat. Tint the paint following the instructions in the next section before application. Allow each coat to dry for 12 to 24 hours.
• Wood: remove any peeling paint from wood surfaces, sand the finish and apply a latex or alkyd primer to any bare wood. Allow the primer to dry and apply a latex basecoat tinted following the instructions in the next section.
• Metal: remove any rust from the surface using a wire brush, sandpaper or steel wool and then prime the rust spots with a rust inhibiting primer. When the rust inhibitor is dry apply a coat of white alkyd-based or metal primer tinted following the directions in the next section. Allow 24 hours for drying.
• Plaster and Drywall: remove any peeling paint and repair any water damage or other major wall damage. Prime any new drywall or plaster repairs with flat latex paint. Basecoat the wall with two coats of latex paint tinted following the instructions in the next section. See Drywall and Plaster Repair for more about wall prep.
• Plastic: plastic doesn't typically hold a painted finish well but for plastic objects that won't see high traffic, like vases or picture frames, a faux finish can be applied. Prime plastic with a general purpose spray paint and use it as the base coat as well. A gray paint will do for most of these finishes otherwise use a light brown spray paint.

Mixing Glaze and Paint Colors

See Mixing Glaze for more about glaze and color mixing. The colorants we will be using for this project are: lamp black, raw umber and burnt umber. We will use these to mix the basecoat colors and the glaze colors required to mimic a stone or granite surface. Mix the paints and glazes for this project all at the same time. Use plastic cups or some other container that you can cover easily to prevent the glaze for drying out. You will need several different shades of paint and glaze, depending on the stone finish you are creating. You will also need a measuring cup and a tablespoon to get these finishes exactly. But because the colors of natural stone vary, these colors can be varied if desired.

You will need 9 colors to create the stone finishes covered here. Mark 6 of the cups for glaze: light gray, dark gray, light brown, dark brown, black and white. Mark 3 of the cups for paint: black, gray and brown. Add to each of the glaze cups: ½ cup of the mixing glaze, 1 tablespoon of white paint and about a quarter cup of water. Then add tint in the following quantities:

• Light Gray— ½ teaspoon raw umber
• Dark Gray— ½ teaspoon lamp black
• Light Brown— ½ teaspoon burnt umber
• Dark Brown— 1 teaspoon burnt umber
• Black— 2 teaspoons lamp black
• White— add no colorant

To the paint cups add half cup white paint and then add tint in the following quantities:

• Black— 2 teaspoons lamp black
• Gray— ½ teaspoon lamp black
• Brown— 1 teaspoon burnt umber

Mix well, cover and set aside.

Go to Applying a Stone Faux Finish on the next page of this tutorial.